My office is about to get a new DHCP server, integrated to our DNS server. What IS has told me is that when I plug the empeg in, it should resolve on our intranet as hostname.jacksonville.companyXX.com .
So my question is this: Is the empeg name (EmpegMk2 in my case) going to be sent as the hostname during DHCP authorization/assignment?
My guess is yes, but I'm not 100% sure...
Thanks,
Jason

I think that it actually doesn't send a hostname at all.

I wish it would, though. Does it?

Problem would be if you plugged more than one into the same network. Guess it could send some sort of hashing of the owner name field if they really wanted to implement it. Or they could invent a specific field in config.ini for that purpose. If the field is empty, send no hostname. If it's filled out, send that.

Guys?

Greetings!

I can tell you that on my corporate LAN, the empeg does not automatically register in DNS. I did the registration myself and I assigned a name that was not the name of the empeg itself. Does that help?

On your LAN, do other machines show up with their hostname automatically in DNS? I've been told that I can register the Empeg on our DNS server with the new DHCP server in place, as the leases will last up to a week instead of for just a few days. Supposedly, they don't want to update the DNS each time Empeg gets a new IP; they have "better" things to do.
I think this is a relatively new feature of DHCP-DNS integration (at least it's new on our network), so it probably doesn't happen on most LANs.
If anyone does have a DHCP-DNS configuration like this, what does your Empeg Mk2 show up as? Does it show up in DNS at all?
Thanks,

Greetings!

It depends on which DNS server you are running. I think we are running something by Quadratech here. I am not certain of the spelling or product - I do not have to deal with the back end of it very much. It is supposed to allow dynamic DNS registration, and it will do so with W2K servers / clients. In that instance, it will take the name by default. It did not notice the empeg, but I had given it a fixed IP address.

As to the leases and the renewal time, I personally recommend a fixed IP address if you can get one. It avoids any DHCP issues that may be in your environment, gives a fixed address to register and will not change. I deal a lot with various servers at the office, so I control a small pool of addresses.

If DHCP is a better alternative to your environment, go for that. From what I have seen, if the IP address is still available at lease renewal, you will get the same IP. So, if you are regularly connected (within the one week period) you should have the same IP anyway.

The DCHP-DNS integration is certainly not new, though security has to be tight in this scenario. If you are running W2k server with DHCP and DNS, you can easily have DHCP update the DNS database by checking a box. I don't recall where exactly, but it's in Computer Management. More fun is the integration of DHCP, DNS AND WINS. I've done some research about integration of these technologies in the past, though I've never actually build an infrastructure that relies on them, sorry.

pgrezelak: "... I personally recommend a fixed IP address if you can get one. ..."

One other option depending, as you say, on the administrative environment, and depending on the DHCP server, would be a hard-wired, MAC-based reservation with no expiration. Same effect as a static for your purposes, but it makes some DHCP admins happier from a book keeping standpoint.

Jim

Yes, both of these would be options in the current office environment. I could use Static IP, but I like the fact that my cable modem at home assigns an IP in my home networking range. I also asked about MAC reservation, and they said that'd be fine, but not necessary in the new environment if the host sent a hostname upon discovery.
So, if I plug the empeg in and it automagically starts to resolve as EmpegMk2, that'll be fine. If not, I'll have them reserve the MAC to a fixed (but still assigned each day) IP address at work, which won't affect my home net.

So, unless someone can tell me for sure that empeg sends its own host name to the DHCP server, I'll just have to wait and see if it works.
Thanks

No. The empeg does _not_ send a hostname to the DHCP server.